Blaming Theism or Atheism

Michael gave some extensive comments to my last post that deserve an extensive response. However, there is one particular claim that I would like to focus on here.

It is the idea that people do harm in the name of religion, but it is impossible to do harm in the name of atheism.

There are two things that can be said of this.

First, if this is true, then it is also true that people do good in the name of religion, but nobody has ever done good in the name of atheism. If the former is a reason to condemn religion, then the latter is a reason to condemn atheism.

I reject the latter as a reason to condemn atheism because, any good that a theist will do, an atheist is capable of doing - though for other reasons.

Yet, consistency requires rejecting the former as a reason to condemn religion - because any evil a theist will do, an atheist is capable of doing - though for different reasons.

Second, it is true that generic atheism contains no commandments - no orders to do or to forbear from any activity. However, genetic theism does not contain any commandments either. The proposition, "One or more god(s) exist(s)" says nothing about what we should or should not do. Those prohibitions and requirements come from things added to the proposition that God exists.

The same is true of atheism. An atheist can do evil, depending on the other beliefs that one adds to the proposition that no god(s) exist(s).

If it is invalid to blame generic atheism for harms done from beliefs associated with generic atheism, then it is similarly invalid to blame generic theism for harms done from beliefs associated with generic theism.

And if it is valid to blame generic theism for harms done from beliefs associated with generic theism, then it is similar valid to blame atheism for harms done from beliefs associated with generic atheism, such as communism.